Principios multimedia y juicios de estudiantes universitarios sobre videos instruccionales

Abstract

Este estudio explora los juicios y percepciones de estudiantes universitarios sobre videos instruccionales que vieron en cursos virtuales, a la luz de los principios de la teoría cognitiva de aprendizaje multimedia. Se realizó una encuesta online donde participaron 391 estudiantes universitarios de diversos cursos, como Psicología, Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Medicina y STEM (Ciencia, Tecnología, Ingeniería y Matemáticas, por sus siglas en inglés). La encuesta preguntaba qué formatos de presentación habían visto; en caso de que hubieran visto más de uno, cuál juzgaron más propicio para el aprendizaje, y cuál les gustó más. También respondieron sobre preferencias acerca de la duración del video, y sobre la imagen o la presencia del instructor (aburrida, amable, distractora, gusto). Las modalidades de video más vistas fueron: texto, imágenes y gráficos, con audio del instructor; instructor con imágenes y gráficos o una presentación, e instructor solo. Los formatos de video considerados más propicios para el aprendizaje y más apreciados fueron aquellos que incluían al profesor interactuando con una presentación o material gráfico y los que incluían texto e imágenes más audio. Los videos que incluían solo al instructor hablando fueron calificados de forma más positiva en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales y Psicología, que en Medicina y STEM. En general, se valoró positivamente la presencia del profesor. En cuanto a la segmentación, los estudiantes prefirieron videos de duración media, antes que videos cortos. En conclusión, los juicios de los estudiantes sobre los videos instruccionales online se alinearon con los principios del aprendizaje multimedia, excepto por el principio de segmentación.

Instructional video refers to recorded content with image, sound, and movement with educational purposes. Digital instructional videos have acquired considerable relevance in online education since its implementation in synchronous and asynchronous courses, its inclusion in learning platforms such as Moodle or Blackboard and the diffusion of video applications such as YouTube. The cognitive theory of multimedia learning, based on experimental research, proposes a series of principles to create effective instructional materials. These principles encourage the use of visual and auditory information in an integrated and synchronous manner, the avoidance of redundant information, to segment information into smaller pieces (e.g., make shorter videos), and to highlight relevant information. Other guiding principles to be followed when preparing an instructional video refer to the presence of the instructor: this presence attracts attention and can provide information and cues to foster the proposed principles. In addition, social cues would increase motivation, engagement, and positive affect. Nonetheless, the instructor's presence could be distracting and detrimental to learning. Most of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning is based on studies with measures of recall, comprehension, and performance under controlled laboratory conditions. Perceptions and attitudes toward instructional videos and their features, on the other hand, may differ in the students' learning experience and may also align or disagree with performance measures. This possible alignment or discordance is relevant because students' judgments are factors that affect motivation, course completion, and satisfaction. Therefore, this study aims to explore student’s judgments of expository videos seen in online courses, with respect to multimedia principles. Three hundred and ninety-one university students from diverse types of courses (Psychology, Social Sciences and Humanities, Medicine and STEM), who had seen at least one asynchronous instructional video in a learning management platform or video application (excluding synchronous videoconferences or lectures provided via platforms such as Zoom), completed an online survey. The survey asked about the presentation formats they had seen; in case they had seen more than one, they were asked to judge which one they found more conducive to learning and liked or preferred more, as well as which video duration they found more useful (short, medium, long). The last questions referred to the instructor's presence; participants rated a series of statements on a Likert-type scale from 1 ("strongly disagree") to 5 ("strongly agree"). The statements were: The instructor was friendly; he/she was annoying/annoying/confusing; he/she was monotonous/boring; I liked how the person explained the topic; he/she helped me understand the topic better; I was distracted by the person's face, gestures, and clothing. The survey was created using Google Forms with five sections (Demographics, Video Experience, Video Experience - Format, Video Experience - Duration, Attitudes towards instructor presence, Survey Closure). The survey was distributed via social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram). Most frequently seen videos were: Text, images and graphs, with instructor audio; Instructor with images and graphs or a presentation; and Instructor alone. Videos showing only an instructor (without materials) were less experienced in Medicine and STEM. The video formats considered most conducive to learning or clearest, and more liked, were those that included the lecturer interacting with a presentation or graphic materials, and also videos that included text and images plus audio; ratings for videos showing only the instructor talking were higher in Humanities and Social Sciences, and Psychology, and lower in Medicine and STEM. In general, the lecturer's presence was considered positively. As for segmentation, students preferred median length duration videos to shorter ones. In conclusion, students’ judgments about online instructional videos aligned with cognitive multimedia principles, except for the segmentation principle.